The present application is related to PCT application EP 99/07278 filed on Oct. 1, 1999 and claims the priority data thereof.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a relay, having: a base which defines a base plane; a magnet system arranged on the base and having a coil, a core and an armature; at least one pair of closing spring contacts and at least one pair of opening spring contacts, each pair of spring contacts including an active and a passive spring contact, and each spring contact being secured in the base, standing perpendicular to the base plane, and bearing at its end remote from the base a contact portion; and an actuating slide which is movable parallel to the base plane and which acts on each movable spring contact, in each case in the vicinity of the contact portion.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
A relay of this type with forcibly guided contacts is known from DE 195 40 739 A1. There, the individual contact springs are arranged insulated from one another, with special structural measures also being taken to prevent short circuits in the event that contact portions become detached from the spring contacts. In this known relay, the active spring contacts, below the contact portions, are guided and actuated in laterally open slots in a slide. Laterally open actuating portions alter the stability of the slide, however, with the result that such slides already have a tendency to warp even during manufacture and do not retain optimum dimensional stability in operation either. A further problem with relay constructions of this kind consists in the fact that the force for opening the opening springs has to be overcome at the beginning of the movement of attraction of the armature, while the force for closing the closing contacts occurs towards the end of the armature movement of attraction. Since the force of an electromagnet system is small at the beginning of the armature movement of attraction, however, and only rises steeply towards the end of the movement of attraction, when the operational air gap is almost closed, application of the opening force is a problem which is typically solved by making the magnet system large in size, with this over-sizing not being necessary to close the closing contacts.